Growing in the Fear of the Lord
Devotion 23 - Growing in the Fear of the Lord
Isa.11:1-3 – “There shall come
forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of
the Lord.”
The same spirit that was upon Jesus is now
also within us as Christ dwells in each one of us who believes in Him. One of
the expressions of Spirit that was upon
Jesus is the “the spirit of knowledge and of the fear
of the Lord”.
In the prophecy of Jeremiah, God again
promised to put His fear in our hearts. Hence, without the shadow of doubt, God
Himself has implanted the seed of fearing Him in our hearts.
Jer.32:38-41 – “They shall be My
people, and I will be their God; then I will give them one heart and one way,
that they may fear Me forever,
for the good of them and their children after them. And I will make an
everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good;
but I
will put My fear in their hearts
so that they will not depart from Me. Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I
will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My
soul.”
However, this fear is just a seed, just like the love
of God that has been imparted to us through the Spirit when we receive our
salvation.
Rom.5:5 – “Now hope does
not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy
Spirit who was given to us.”
We need to water this seed regularly, nurture it so
that it grows into a tree
and bears fruit of its own. The seed of fearing the Lord must be matured over faithful meditations and
prayerful confessions before it becomes a living truth in us.
2 Tim.1:6 – “Therefore I
remind you to stir up the gift of God
which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”
Just like how we need to stir up (or fan the flames)
of the gifts of the spirit that is within us, we need to stir up the spirit of fearing
the Lord in us. It means
we are responsible to grow in the fear of the Lord.
Conditions for us to Grow in the Fear of the Lord
Consistent exposure to Scripture is the path to
growing in the fear of God. The more we know God, the more we will fear Him.
The more we see His majesty, sovereignty, and love, the more we will stand in
awe of Him.
Deut.4:10 -
“Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may
learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they
may teach their children.”
Even the king was to read God’s law regularly,
specifically for the purpose of learning to fear Him.
Deut.17:18-19 - “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his
kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book,
from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it
shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn
to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law
and these statutes…”
Let’s
consider five important elements for us to grow as we read the Word:
Prov. 2:1-5 – “My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, So that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift
up your voice for understanding,
if you
seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the
knowledge of God.”
a) Obedience
– “if you will receive My words…”
The
Holy Spirit is the one who can reveal Jesus to us through the Word. If He is
quenched and grieved (Eph.4:30; 1Thess.5:19), we will not grow in revelation.
We can not offend the Spirit and expect Him to continue to make Jesus known to
us in a deep way.
Are
there areas of deliberate disobedience in our lives that are blocking our
spiritual progress?
b) Diligence – “If you…treasure My commands within you…”
We treasure His commands as we fill our
minds and hearts with His Word so that our emotions are affected. We mediate on the Scriptures diligently. Reading gives us breath, but mediating gives us depth. It is
impossible to grow in intimacy with Jesus without regular meditation on the
Scripture.
c) Teachable – “incline your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to
understanding…”
We
need to have a humble, teachable and pliable heart, to be in fellowship and
hear the word being taught regularly. If we are rigid and hard-hearted, always
defending our pet doctrines, we will not be able to receive new revelation.
d) Prayer – “if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for
understanding…”
We should constantly pray for enlightenment
and revelation of God. One of Paul’s primary prayers for the Ephesian Church is
for their them to continue to receive the “spirit of
wisdom and revelation and for their eyes of understanding to be enlightened…”(Eph.1:17-18).
e) Hunger – “if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden
treasures…”
We need to have a deep hunger to truly grow
deep in God. We must spend time digging out the precious truth
like a covetous man searches after wealth. The result – “then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.”
May the Lord continue to grant all of us an
obedient and seeking heart, a holy insatiable passion of wanting to know Him
more and more till we see Him face to face!
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